Padgett Stratemann is now RMSAs San Antonio becomes a bigger player in Texas Business, more national firms are entering this market. A national firm does not start from zero. RMS (http://rsmus.com/) purchased Padgett. This gives the buyer a large client base to start with. Typically the local partners have made a handsome profit on their time at the firm. But seeking to recoup the investment, the buyer typically raises fees knowing some business will be lost. RMS has re located from North Loop 410 to 1604 and 281. Renee Foshee, a tax expert with the firm, is the current SA CPA Society President.

Turner Cleveland PCTerry Cleveland has addressed our students. Two of our graduates are employed with at this firm.

Ridout Barrett CPAsTony Ridout has visited and addressed our students many times. We have placed graduates with Ridout for several years.

Financial Consulting Firms

Aventine Hill Partners, Inc.Beth Hair CEO founded Aventine in San Antonio in 2009. The firm now has offices in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. She formerly was with RGP.

Resource Global ProfessionalsSusan Hough has been to campus and spoken to our students. She is the San Antonio Manager of RGP. RGP and Aventine are not CPA firms. Instead they offer contract specialists for firms needing specific tasks such as compliance or Controllerships.

Accounting Information

Acounting Today This is an independent site for accounting news regarding firms and current issues.

Accounting Certifications

Certified Information Systems Auditor CISANow that everything is literally on the computer and cyber security becomes a prominent issue, I see more and more accounting professionals with this designation. Previously known as the Information Systems and Audit Control Association, it now goes by the acronym ISACA.

Geo Politics

Institute for the Study of WarThe Institute for the Study of War advances an informed understanding of military affairs through reliable research, trusted analysis, and innovative education. We are committed to improving the nation’s ability to execute military operations and respond to emerging threats in order to achieve U.S. strategic objectives. ISW is a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy research organization.

StratforThis Austin, TX based site was begun by an ex Texas State Professor.

Socionomics

April 29, 2008

An article in the Economist details the importance that Africa has in India's future. I suspect we need a refresher class in geography, or are you familiar with Madagascar? India and China will be vying for Africa's rich natural resources. This may do more to develop Africa than all the good intentioned UN plans thus far.

April 22, 2008

Forbes Magazine in my opinion has morphed into sort of a cross between Vanity Fair, Town and Country, and Esquire. Which is to say it is not the business journal it used to be. The columnists however remain some of the best. Steve takes on Greenspan and yes, after being haied as a Maestro, amid the housing mess many are now questioning Greenspan's judgement. Steve's column is a fine analysis of how we got where we are with too many houses, $900 gold, and $100+ oil.

Did anyone notice that Mr. Leisure Suit in Iran said oil is too cheap at $115?

April 21, 2008

George Will takes on the Too Big to Fail argument. He goes back to Chrysler. He suggests that got the idea going that the FED or Govt could prevent failures from spreading. Now the genie is out of the bottle, who can put it back in? I certainly like his last suggestion that any investment or private company taking such aid cannot pay anyone more than the top Federal rate of $125K, that would certainly calm things down.

April 18, 2008

I am not endorsing a candidate by any stretch, but here is an interesting story about the

McCain Campaign. He is planning on decentralizing the campaign to ten regional managers. Each will talk with headquarters every day. Most decisions will be left to the managers. Business talks about this but we rarely see it especially in politics. Certainly the Dem campaigns appear tightly controlled from the top. will this work, we shall see. This is a most interesting campaign season so it is hard to resist posting articles about the management of the campaigns. This is a topic in managerial accounting, if this works, expect a book on how McCain really became the Come From Behind Kid at Age 71!

April 17, 2008

One observers says that the swaps and derivative industry is out of the Panic Zone. Well that reassures me, you to eh? The writer suggests that the derivatives industry needs a clearinghouse to determine value. Gee wouldn't that be called an Exchange? An open transparent market would allow everyone to see price and volume? Gee works round the world, sounds good to me. Ever since banks and brokerages started going off market to create trillions of dollars of derivatives we have been on borrowed time. Long Term Capital Managemet and Bear Stearns are the first two examples. No one knows how many more are out there. We seem to be finding out at the wrong time.

Frnakly I have never bought into the Mantra that Jack Welch was the GREAT CEO. He moved jobs and intellectual capial to China. How does that help the US or grow process in his own company GE? It does not. Now it appears that several kings in fact have no new clothes.

Welch rode the great stock boom of the 1990s astride an already successful company, General Electric. Instead of staying in the electrical business he took GE into the financial business. Bad idea. And at the height of the stock boom Welch started writing books reflecting an adoring media. And then of course at 60 something he divorced his wife for a younger woman. Google Jack Welch at Amazon to see the list of books. The stock had already started down as the last couple of books came out. His lavish retirement package finally drew some criticism. Now his succesor and others are not looking so great. It is easy to look good when times are good. When the going gets tough, well.....

April 16, 2008

Jim Rogers has as always an interesting take on things this past weekend in Barrons. Click on the link!

One of the students in Intermed II just did his book report on Jim's Investment Biker. A great thinga bout Jim is that he does not work for an investment firm so you always get his straightforward opinion. I just bought his latest and fourth book,

A Bull In China. I think we would do well to improve our choice of books for reports, I will be providing a list of approved books in the future.

In my mind the problem is that, according to the article, Chrysler will design cars to be made by Nissan and Nisan will design a big truck to be built by Chrylser. Isn't this exactly backwards? The last small car Chrylser designed well was a 1968 Dodge Dart with a slant six engine. The Chrysler NEON is bottom of the barrel in resale and desirability compared to Toyota and Honda. The TITAN Nissan pickup has not sold well, so why is Nissan designing and Chrylser building? If you ask me, Chrysler would be better off to sell a re badged Nissan car and Nissan would be better off to show Chrysler how to improve quality control on its pickups. Each needs to refelct is specialty, not wish it could do better at its failures.

Jerry Flint details the agreement. It does not seem like a winner to him either. This is the same 'me too' road Chrysler has been down so many times before. It is the badge of an also ran not an innovator.

April 15, 2008

Everyone talks about thinking outside the box but in my experience no one does it.

This writer suggests the networks would do better to just eliminate the evening news. After all it is just a highly paid person who sits and reads a teleprompter. Journalist, give me a break, they read the news someone else writes. News is on 24/7 on cable tv and multiple web sites, and much more up to the minute. The model has changed, there are a lot more than three networks just like there are a lot more than three car makers in the US. Come to think of it, that is not a bad analogy. As the writer says, Entertainment tonite for an hour would probably make more money.

I bring this up to spotlight the importance of 'new' thinking. Two weeks ago I distributed an article from CFO suggesting the FASB was going to eliminate the concept of net income. Apple eliminated the necessity of buying 12 songs on a CD to get the two you actually want, no one ever listened to the other ten tracks unless it was a Best of Album anyway, did we? Digital media and McLuhan's Global Village are a reality and real time is just that. Thinking needs to be focused on the increase in the speed of delivery of information. And that is why there is not need for a once a day evening news, especially at $15 M an anchor.....